Secret Santa
by angelz1114577
Summary: It's holiday season at Empire State Academy, and the school-wide Secret Santa has everyone excited. Bella and Edward draw names, but will they be able to find each other by the dance, or will the mystery of the game keep them apart?
1. Chapter 1

**Bella POV**

"Bella! This is going to be the most amazing day ever; I can feel it!" Alice, my best friend, chimed from her seat to my left.

Today, at Empire State Academy in New York, was the most feared day of my existence. Today was Secret Santa Day. Our school thought that it would be a great bonding idea for the entire student body to have a secret santa that they _had_ to buy gifts for, even if it were just one. Then, even worse than this whole holiday idea, the secret would be revealed at the Winter Break Dance.

It's not that I was averse to the holidays, because I happened to love Christmas and everything that came with it. I just didn't enjoy having to buy gifts for someone I could possibly not know, and hope that they didn't think that my gifts were lame. _Happy Holidays, Bella._

"Alice," I groaned, "What happens if I get some awkward freshman boy that only likes Hot Wheels or something? And what if he expects me to dance with him? You know I don't dance!"

"But there is also the chance that you could get Edward, so stop complaining and just suck it up!" She ordered while stuffing the last fry from her lunch tray into her mouth.

I was just about to say something to her for even suggesting that Edward Cullen would want _me_ to be his Secret Santa when we were interrupted by Jessica Stanley, who just so happened to be carrying the bag with all of the names.

"Hey guys, anything good happen today that I didn't hear about? What am I saying, not likely!" She cackled. Jessica was the biggest gossip in the school, and anything that was said to her had the opportunity to be misconstrued and then spread around to the entire student body, all before third period.

"Jess, can we just pick our names and get this over with?" I asked, hoping that my avoidance of her questions would go unnoticed.

"Why Bella, what's the rush? Is there someone _particular_ you want to pull?" she asked, and her eyes lit up with the prospect of a new story. _She was __**so **__working for E! News when she graduates._

Alice, fed up with the game that Jessica was playing, snatched the red stocking out of her hand, reached in, and pulled a name before stuffing it in her pocket.

"Aren't you even going to tell me who you got?" Jess whined, pouting.

"Where would be the secret in that?" Alice replied, and then handed me the stocking so I could pick my own.

I reached in and swirled my hand around, hoping that the Secret Santa gods would be merciful and just hand me someone I at least knew. Finally, I pulled a name and silently handed Jessica back her stocking, keeping the secret hidden away in my closed fist. When she realized that we weren't going to provide her with any bit of gossip today, she huffed and continued on to the next table.

"Okay, on the count of three, we both need to look at our names, and then show each other. One...two…three!"

As soon as Alice reached three, I opened my hand, and then my heart stopped. I looked over at Alice, who was in the process of reading her name as well.

"I got Emmett McCarthy. Hard, but not impossible to shop for. Who did you get, Bells?"

I showed her my slip, and as soon as her eyes glossed over the name on the tag, the biggest grin broke out over her face.

"I knew it! I knew it! Didn't I tell you that this was going to be an amazing day? Never doubt me, Bella, I'm always right!"

I looked down again at the slip of paper in my hand, and then felt a huge grin break across my face. _Maybe this was my chance! _Mine had the words _Edward Cullen _written in bold.

**Edward POV**

"Dude! Did you watch the end of that game last night? There was five seconds left, and they scored the goal! Jasper, where's my five bucks?"

I was half listening to my two best friends drone on about the hockey game that was on last night. I had more important things on my mind, like the pretty brunette that was sitting with her spiky-haired friend a few tables over.

Bella Swan caught my eye freshman year when we were partners in biology, but I never had the guts to tell her how I felt about her. Now, here we were during junior year, and I still didn't have the balls to just talk to her and ask her out.

I saw Jazz motion to me out of the corner of my eye, and I was about to ask him what was up when Jessica Stanley thrust herself into my line of vision. I almost fell out of my seat just trying to get away from her.

"Heyyyy Edward," she purred in what she probably thought was an alluring voice, but it really just sounded like she needed to cough. "How are you? Are you looking forward to the holidays? I know I'm just hoping for someone special to meet me under the mistletoe." She winked at me, and I shuddered.

Jessica had been pining after me for as long as I can remember. I never even gave it any thought until a couple months ago when she cornered me in the hallway on my way to math class, asking me to meet her in the janitor's closet in five minutes. It was needless to say that I ran to class and avoided her like the plague ever since.

I heard Emmett and Jasper snicker and I took a deep breath, trying to come up with a short response to get her away from me as fast as possible.

"Hey, is that the secret santa bag? Can we pick our names?" I asked casually, hoping that she would take the hint and leave soon.

I almost felt bad when her face fell, but she recovered just as fast, but the smile on her face was just a little forced. "Yeah, of coarse, here." She thrust the bag in our direction, and we each took a turn picking a name. After we were done, she tossed another flirty smile in our direction and pranced off.

It took Em about two seconds to burst out laughing. It didn't take me and Jazz long to join in, and we laughed about the ridiculousness of the situation that I was just in.

"Guys, we haven't even seen who we have for secret santa. Don't you think we should check?" I asked, bringing all of us back into reality.

Emmett looked at his and grimaced. He showed it to us, and _Lauren Mallory_ was written on the little tag.

"Damn man, that kinda sucks," Jazz said, an apologetic look on his face. I just shook my head and laughed. Getting anyone from Tanya's posse was enough to make anyone cry.

Jasper showed us his and _Bree Tanner_ was written. At least his pick was just a normal sophomore girl that wouldn't latch onto him at the end of this whole thing.

"Eddie-kins, we don't have eighty years, show us yours already!" Emmett huffed impatiently.

I rolled my eyes at him, and then made a big show of opening my fist slowly, wanting to piss him off even more. When he went to grab it from me, I decided to just show them.

I saw their excited grins first, and then looked for myself to see _Bella Swan_ on my sheet. I looked at it three more times before it finally sunk in. _This must be some freaky kind of fate or something, because there is no way that I would just stumble upon her name. _

I glanced over to where she was sitting, and a goofy smile found its way onto my face. I began to formulate a plan on how I was going to work this to my advantage. My gifts had to have some type of meaning, because I really wanted to be able to tell her how I felt about her by the time the dance came around.

_Let the holiday season begin!_


	2. Chapter 2

Thursday (8 days till Dance)

**Bella POV**

By the end of the day, all of the students were buzzing with excitement over the gifts that they were bound to receive over the coming days. Alice and I were walking down the hallway to get our books out of our lockers before heading to the mall. Alice was determined to pick out the perfect first gift for Emmett, and she also wanted to help me with what to give to Edward.

"Bella! Can't you move any faster? Before we know it, everyone at school is going to be at the mall and all of the good stuff will be gone! If I am stuck giving some dumb reindeer antlers because you decided to morph into a tortoise, there will be hell to pay, sister!"

Just to drive home her point, she stomped her foot and glowered at me. I wanted to laugh, but I knew she would just get even more pissed off, so I grabbed my books, tossed my scarf around my neck, and closed my locker.

After almost dragging me down the hallway, Ali jumped into her black Chevy Malibu, threw it into gear, and sped off towards the mall. She pushed the button to switch on the stereo, and _The 12 Days till Christmas_ blared through the speakers. We sang along happily, enjoying the Christmas-y atmosphere and just being silly with each other.

The mall was a madhouse. There were people doing last minute Christmas shopping, squealing children standing in line in hope of taking a picture with Santa, and of course swarms of teenagers just hanging out on a Thursday afternoon. We decided to take a pit stop to get hot cocoa and discuss strategy. Alice wanted to stop at a sports shop to pick up a football or something, and I wanted to get something classic, but was having a hard time coming up with ideas.

"Bells, come check this out! I think I found you the perfect gift!" Alice exclaimed, jumping up and down and clapping her hands like a child.

"Alice, is the clapping really necessary?" I asked, hoping that she would take the hint and stop.

"Just get your cute little self over here and praise my awesomeness!"

I walked over to the display that she was standing over, and at that moment I knew that she had really found the perfect gift. It was a green Christmas tie with little candy canes and peppermints all over it. I knew the color would make his eyes look that much more amazing, so I just had to buy it.

"Alice, I would comment on the weird way that you know everything, but you will just go on your psychic rant again, so I will refrain!" I grabbed the tie, walked over to the gift bags, and picked a cute one with snow flakes with matching tissue paper. _I'm such a girl._

Alice came with me to the cashier line and tried to think of the best game plan to get some of her shopping done. We figured that while we were shopping for secret santa, we might as well knock a few people off of our lists.

While Alice headed to a sports shop to check out something for Emmett, I just glanced around. All of the twinkling lights hanging from the ceiling paired with the people in their winter gear just made everything that much more enchanting.

"Bella, are you ready? We have lots to do to prepare for tomorrow!" She grinned at me, walking towards the exit.

We headed to Alice's house because she insisted that 'inspiration just came to her' when she was in her room. She came at me with wrapping paper, ribbon, peppermint scented pens, and bows. She called it a gift wrap party. We sprawled out on her floor, putting the finishing touches on the first installments to the game, and watching _Grandma Got Run-over by a Reindeer. _

About half-way through, she muted the television and turned my way. "So, Bella, do you think that this is your chance to get to really _know_ Edward?

"I think that this is the way that we can officially break the ice," I said. "It's about time that I get over my fears of falling and just jump."

Alice squealed and hopped on my back. We fell into a laughing heap, and I knew in that moment that I had the most amazing best friend in the world.

Too soon, it was time to leave. When I got home, I talked a bit to my dad, bade him goodnight, and got ready for bed.

That night, I dreamt of Edward Cullen, images of us twirling around the dance floor lulling me to sleep.

**Edward POV**

"EDDIE!" Emmett bellowed. "Let's get a move on! It's already after five and traffic is going to be crazy. COME ON."

I swore sometimes I didn't know why I hung around him. He and Jasper decided to come and lounge at my house after school, eating all of **my **food and watching **my** television. It apparently just registered in Emmett's brain that the secret santa officially started tomorrow, because now he was in a rush to get to the mall. Why, I will never know, because if I had Lauren, I would just buy a dog toy and call it a day.

"Jeez, can you wait for two freaking minutes while I find my hat? I'm not tryna have my hair freeze in these sub-arctic temperatures," I growled, wishing he would discover at least a little bit of the patience that he was born with.

The ride to the mall was uneventful. Jasper and Emmett talked about all of the non-girly crap they were trying to force upon their choices. Emmett was talking about buying a Chucky movie just to get a laugh when Lauren freaked. Jasper talked about a gift card to some place. I tuned them out and paid attention to the road; the snow was really coming down now.

After parking and booking it to the entrance, we shook the snow off of our clothes and headed on our way. For being in the middle of rush hour, the mall was wall-to-wall people. We wove our way in between the masses and headed to the Apple Store. Jasper had finally decided to get a gift card for some music; it seemed like a safe enough gift.

After that, Emmett decided to entertain us with his portrayal of the expressions that would cross Lauren's face when she saw what her secret santa got her. His astonishment was by far the best; he opened his eyes really wide, scrunched up his nose, and opened his mouth. That one had us all dying, abs aching from the laughter.

"Guys, can we get some grub? I'm a growing boy, and growing boys are in need of food. I NEED TO BE FED!" _You would think that he had been deprived as a child or something_.

"Emmett, can you calm it down? The food court is right around the corner, and I promise that you won't die on the walk there," Jasper huffed, rolling his eyes at the childish behavior of our friend.

We walked to the food court, grabbed a table, and bought a few slices of pizza and some coke.

"Are you happy now, you oversized toddler? Is your tummy full now?" I cooed at him, pinching his cheek.

"Edward, you better be nice to me before I tell Tanya that you want to go out with her. You and I both know that she would latch onto you like a leech." With that, I knew that I needed to shut up and finish eating my food.

I was in a rush, because we had been here for about two hours and I still had not found the perfect first gift for Bella yet. I wanted it to be meaningful, but I didn't want her to think that I was some creep with a crush on her. _But I am a creep with a crush on her…_

We walked across the entire store, and I was getting really discouraged when I saw it. It was a silver necklace, the chain dainty and girly, and a, elegant B pendant hanging from it. It was perfect, and I had to have it.

I didn't want the guys to rag on me for my gift, so I made sure to duck into the store while they were occupied with some new videogame that just came out. I tucked my purchase into my coat pocket just as they approached.

"Come on, Edward, we have one last stop before we can go home. I have to get bags and all of that gift wrapping crap," Emmett said, walking towards the closest CVS.

We picked out our stuff and headed home. I was really happy with my purchase, and I hoped that Bella would really like it as well. I would have to stealthily walk by when she discovered her gift and see her reaction. I could not wait until tomorrow.

I dropped Em and Jazz off at their houses, and then headed home to mine. My mom was in the kitchen baking gingerbread cookies, so the house really smelled like the holidays. She hugged me when I came in, asked about my day, and I told her about the secret santa.

"Aww, son, that is so sweet. I'm sure she is going to love what ever you choose to give to her." That is why I loved my mother; she was always so supportive of everything that I did.

I finished up our conversation, headed to my room, and set to wrapping her gift. Another thing to be grateful to my mother for, because she taught me to wrap a mean gift.

I set it on my desk, and then got to work on the card I would slip into it along with a candy cane. I thought that everyone should get a candy cane at Christmas time, so why not add one to all of my gifts.

The note was causing a lot of grief though, because I really just wanted to spill my guts to her, but doing so anonymously was not my idea of romantic, so I ultimately decided against it.

Before too long, the perfect little note seemed to flow from my pen and onto the tiny snowman shaped card. _Bella was going to love it, I could just feel it. _

I hopped in the shower to get ready for bed, trying to think of the perfect place to leave Bella's gift. I was thinking her first period class, but that was a little too weird and I didn't have that class with her, so I wouldn't be able to see her face when she saw it.

_Her locker, that sounds like the perfect spot. Not to weird, and we don't have locks so I don't have to worry about breaking into her stuff. _

I tossed on my pajamas and climbed into my bed, thinking one last time about the perfect gift I got for Bella before letting my eyes droop shut.


	3. Chapter 3

Friday (7 days till dance)

**Bella POV **

The beeping of my alarm woke me from my slumber. It took all of a second for me to remember what today was, and my heart started pounding and I was grinning from ear to ear. _This was going to be an amazing day, I could just tell!_

I hopped into the shower, grabbed my favorite French vanilla scented body wash, and started singing to myself. After drying off, I walked to my closet and contemplated my outfit for today. It didn't feel like a sweats sort of day today; this was a momentous occasion, so I had to dress the part. I pulled out a pair of dark wash skinny jeans, a black v-neck sweater with a silver chain belt, and my black suede boots. To top off my glam day, I even took the time to straighten my hair. I looked at myself in the mirror after applying my little bit of eyeliner and mascara. _Damn, I looked good!_

Alice honked her horn a few minutes later and I bounded down the stairs, snatching up my coat from the hanger on my way out of the door. It took less than a moment for Alice to comment on the obvious effort I had put into my appearance today.

"Wow Bells!" she gushed. "You look absolutely amazing today. Is there anyone special whose eye you are trying to catch?" With that, she winked at me and then took off down the street.

"Ali, can't a girl just decide to dress up for a day without any real reason?" I asked.

"Yes a girl can, but not when that girl is named Bella Swan. I mean, you straightened your hair. You never voluntarily take that time unless I force you to let me do it for you!"

I couldn't really argue with that statement, so I just kept silent. I was hoping that if I was to pass Edward today, that maybe he would take notice of my glammed-up state and even talk to me. I guess we would see what the outcome of today would bring.

Alice pulled her car into the closest parking spot to the door that she could find, and we both hopped out and rushed towards the doors, trying to avoid staying out in the cold for too long. We got inside, shook some of the snow from our boots, and headed down the hall towards our lockers.

We had gotten to school a little early today so we could have a chance to store our gifts. Alice had the brilliant idea to leave a little 'signature' that we would include with each of our gifts. She decided on those little Christmas coin candies, while I stayed true to Hershey kisses. They were sweet and cute, and maybe even a little hint to what would happen at the dance. _If I should be so lucky, that is. _

We snuck down the hallway ninja style, trying not to catch the attention of anyone that might catch us in the act. I got to Edward's locker and opened it. I was surprised how neat it was, since he was a boy and all. I hung the little bag from one of the coat hooks, made sure that it would be right in his line of sight, and then headed down to Emmett's locker where Alice was placing her gift.

"Okay Bella, lets get out of this hallway before they get to school and find us awkwardly standing by their lockers," Alice said, and then we turned and heading in the direction of our first period classes.

We walked the halls leisurely, waiting for the bell to ring, but also waiting to see if Edward and Emmett had arrived. When the bell rang without any sight of them, we shrugged at each other and went our separate ways.

After sitting through a boring history class, I stopped off at my locker to get the books I would need for my next couple of classes. When I pulled it open, I was shocked to see a perfectly wrapped gift sitting right on top of my other books. I looked around to see if I could tell who left it for me, but no one in the hallway was paying any attention to me. I smiled to myself and went to open the gift, removing the candy cane that was tied with the red ribbon. I gasped when I was met with a jewelry box. _Someone actually bought me jewelry! This is crazy! _Tears were almost brought to my eyes when I saw it. It was a silver necklace with a scripted B pendant on it. There was even a little note attached.

_Bella, _

_Just a little something to make your beauty shine _

_a little bit more._

_- Your Secret Santa_

I un-clasped the necklace and put it on. It matched perfectly with the belt I had on, and I was grateful that I had a romantic secret santa. _But who could it be?_

I had to rush in order to get my books and make it to class on time. I spent the next four periods trying to think of who my secret santa could be. It had to be a boy, but what boy would be able to think of such a perfect gift? I almost let myself think it was Edward, but that was just my subconscious wishing that it would be him.

By the time lunch arrived, I had sufficiently tuned out the rest of my classes, consumed with thought of this holiday game. I clearly wasn't the only one, as everyone was glancing around a little more than usual, trying to see if they could catch their secret santa glancing at them.

I grabbed a turkey wrap in line, a cup of strawberries, and paid for my lunch. Alice was already at the table when I got there. I was hoping for a ten second delay before she spotted the necklace, but no such luck. It took all of three seconds before her high-pitched squeal cut across the cafeteria. Everyone was staring at us while she freaked out. I spared a glance at Edward's table, and when I saw him looking at me, I felt the blush spread across my face and I looked away.

Alice finally was able to get words to pass her lips. "Oh my god, oh my god, oh my god! Where did you get that necklace? Is that from your secret santa? That is the cutest gift ever!"

"Yes Alice, it was from my secret santa. Now can you keep it down? You are attracting way too much attention!"

No sooner did I get the words out of my throat did Jessica find her way to our table.

"So guys, I heard the commotion. Anything you want to share?" She perched on top of our table, hoping to see some sort of reaction to trick us into spilling, but we were too smart for that, instead opting to stay silent and eat until she got it and left, disappointed yet again.

"So Bells, I heard that the Winter Wonderland festival was this weekend again. You want to check it out? We can ice skate and sled and have lots of fun! Please, please, please, please?" she begged, and no one was immune to a begging Alice.

I caved and said yes, but I was secretly excited to go ice skating. We made plans to go and buy ice skates after school, and with that, we gathered our stuff to head off to French class together.

**Edward POV**

_Ugh. Why can't I have hair like either of my parents? This uncontrollable mess can be a pain in the ass sometimes._

I stood in the mirror, finishing the rest of my morning ritual. I finally just gave up on my hair and walked to my closet, grabbed a dark grey Henley and pulled it on. I looked at the clock, and I had a little less than fifteen minutes to get to school and place Bella's gift. I grabbed it, ran to my car, and drove to school, trying not to speed as I passed the police officers who sat around just waiting for kids like me who were running late.

I got to school with about seven minutes to spare. Since I had all the books I needed for my first three periods, I walked towards Bella's locker. I made sure the gift was tied and the note was included before setting it on top of her books, glancing around to make sure she was there, and ducking into the hallway next to her locker, hoping to see her reaction when she got her gift. When the bell rang and I still hadn't seen her, I made my way to class.

I was walking towards my locker before lunch when I was cornered by Tanya Denali. She was the most stuck up girl I had ever met, and she only went after me because I had never went after her. She leaned against the locker next to mine; I suppose waiting for me to acknowledge her. I rolled my eyes and looked at her, asking what she wanted.

"I just wanted to see if you were having a good day, Eddie? If not, I would be happy to make it better for you." I couldn't help myself, I laughed. She apparently wasn't expecting that response, and she stomped off down the hallway.

I turned my attention back to my locker and was happy to see a gift waiting for me. I loved opening gifts, so I hoped for something good. I pulled the tissue paper out of the bag and saw the green tie with the peppermints on it. It was definitely a girl-given gift, but I loved it all the same. It would definitely make an appearance at the dance. I also found Hershey kisses at the bottom. _This was absolutely my type of girl. _

I walked to lunch, popping a kiss into my mouth and grinning. I couldn't wait to see who gave what to each person. I found Emmett and Jasper talking about what they got. Em was just telling me about his hockey jersey when we heard a loud screech. We all looked towards the noise, but my eyes went to Bella. She was wearing the necklace I bought her, and it looked really good on her neck. I didn't realize I was smiling and staring at her until her eyes met mine and she blushed. I cleared my throat and turn back to the guys, only to find Jasper grinning and Emmett waggling his eyebrows at me, humming stripper music.

"Way to be subtle guys," I huffed, and they busted out laughing. We continued eating for a while, and then Jasper broke the silence.

"So guys, there's this Winter Wonderland festival this weekend, and I think we should check it out. We all agreed that we should go, and we made plans to meet at Emmett's house so we could take his SUV.

The rest of the day passed quickly, with the same boring classes, the same dumb people, but a new air of excitement surrounding everyone. After the last bell rang, I hurried to my locker to grab my new tie, my hat and coat, and headed out to my car.

I passed Bella on my way out, and I took the time to really look at her. Her hair was really straight and shiny, and her outfit made her look incredible. I wanted to tell her, but that would be a little weird for me to just come out and tell her.

She glanced at me during my appraisal of her, and her cheeks flamed in a blush that just made me want to kiss her that much more. I winked at her and she granted me with a small smile. That was enough for me for that day, so I walked towards me car. I looked at in my mirror one more time, thought of the seven whole days before I would actually be able to make a move on her, shook my head at myself, and drove off down the street, heading towards my house.

**A/N: Merry Christmas everyone! I hope you all have an amazing holiday!**


	4. Chapter 4

Saturday (6 days till dance)

**Bella POV**

I woke up on Saturday morning very well energized and ready to have fun with Alice at the Winter Festival. I danced my way into the bathroom to take a steamy shower, making sure to grab my favorite shower gel and my fluffiest towel. I took my time washing my hair, thinking of the look that Edward gave me when we were leaving school yesterday. I didn't think he even knew who I was, but that look changed my whole perspective. _Maybe he __**does**__ notice me. _

As soon as I got out of the shower, my phone rang, and of course it was Alice. I swore sometime that pixie really _was_ psychic, because no normal person could have perfect timing all of the time.

"Yes Alice, I just got out of the shower and no, I have not picked out my outfit yet," I told her, shaking my head at how well I knew her.

"Obviously I know that, Bella. I called because I have already decided what you are going to wear today! So the last time we went shopping, you bought a pair of jeggings. They are going to be perfect; cute enough to wear out, but stretchy enough to wear skating. You have a blue sweater that I know will look perfect with your skin, and make sure you straighten your hair missy!"

I pull on my underwear and bra as she is talking, then walk over to my closet to try and find the outfit that she is talking about. _Leave it to Alice to know more about what is in my closet than I do._

"Okay, okay! Anything else, Master? Is there a certain way I should flip my ends as well?" I tease, slipping on the clothes and turning on my straightener.

"Nope, that's about it. See you in an hour!" And with that, she hung up. Some times I don't get where she gets all of her energy from. No one should be that chipper before ten o'clock.

I do as she said with my hair, and I have to admit that it looks really shiny and pretty this way. I spray a little shine gloss over my head like Alice taught me, and then go to apply my make-up. I don't like to wear a lot, so mascara and a little eyeliner is usually as heavy as I go. Alice would be so proud of me.

I grab the tote bag with my skates in them, toss on my silver hat, scarf, and mittens, and run outside as soon as she pulls up.

"Nice touch with the winter gear, Bells. Very winter-chic. Look at my little fashion protégée!"

I roll my eyes at her and turn on the radio. Some song from Justin Beiber's holiday album was playing, so Ali turned to me and started talking.

"So, before we head to the festival, can we stop at the coffee shop to get some food? I don't want to exercise on an empty stomach!"

"Sure Alice, you know I can't say no to a great muffin!" I replied.

"Oh, and I sort of asked my new friend, Rose, to join us. She is sort of new, and she doesn't really know many people this year. But, I promise, you are going to love her!"

"Ali, stop sweating it! You know how I love to meet new people, and I am sure that it you love her, that I will love her too!"

Alice seemed relieved that I wasn't upset with her about inviting someone else in on our plans. She then went on to tell me how Rose is in her math class, and how she didn't even notice her until they were paired for a project. They talked and found out that they had a lot in common, so Alice invited her to come with us since she didn't have any plans this weekend. I was excited to meet her, since Alice spoke so highly of her.

Alice parked her car in the lot, and we grabbed our bags and headed into the coffee shop, finding a table and placing our order. We only waited about three minutes before Alice squealed and wildly gestured for a blonde, who I assumed was Rosalie, to join our table. Rose introduced herself and gave me a hug, which took me by surprise, but I welcomed it anyway.

Before long, we were all laughing and having a great time. Rose was a really nice girl, and an outsider would never guess that we all hadn't been friends forever. We decided that we had enough of staying inside, and were ready for get to the ice!

* * *

><p>"Bella! It doesn't take forever to lace up a pair of skates! Come on girlfriend, the ice is melting," Alice complained. I spared a glance at Rosalie, and we both collapsed in laughter.<p>

"Alice, chill out! You know that if Bella isn't fully laced, she might break an ankle…or her skull." Rose winked at me and I rolled my eyes at her, but grinned. When I was finally sure that my skates would not cause me to die, I carefully stepped out onto the ice with Ali and Rose, all of our arms linked, and we started to skate. We made it half way around the rink when I jerked to a stop, distracted by a familiar looking mop of bronze hair.

I continued to stare in that direction, and as they walked closer, the bronze mop gave way to emerald green eyes and a strong jaw. _It was Edward!_

I motioned in that direction to Alice, and she grinned at me, her eyes sparkling.

"Well, well, well! Look at the excitement that today has brought!"

**Edward POV**

We arrived at the festival around eleven. Emmett was being a girl and had to primp and such, so that took longer than any man should take. I mean really, what did he have to do? His hair wasn't even that long. Then Jasper had to find his skates. _They act like we didn't make these plans before today._

When we finally got on our skates and put our stuff away, I looked up and saw her. She had her hair straight again, and the hat perched on her head made her look adorable. I felt my heart thundering in my chest, and suddenly I was very hot. Emmett saw which direction I was looking and followed my eyes. He suddenly got a very big grin on his face.

"Eduardo! You see that blonde over there? That is the girl I was telling you about on the drive over. Her name is Rosalie and she is in my shop class. Isn't she the most beautiful girl you have ever seen? Let's go talk to her!"

Before I could even say anything, I was being dragged over to where the girls were skating, beating heart be damned.

"Rosie! Hey, do you remember me? Emmett, from shop!" Emmett's booming voice carried well past his intended target, and most of the people on the rink turned to see what all of the commotion was.

"Emmett, keep it down," I hissed, "you're attracting attention!"

I didn't think he even heard me, because he was now having a conversation with the girls and Jasper, and I was awkwardly standing off to the side. I made the decision to join in on the conversation, trying to forget about the fact that being around Bella made me nervous.

We all started skating lazy laps, talking about anything and everything that came to our minds. Alice was a really funny girl with a bunch of energy, and Jasper got this dazed look on his face whenever he looked at her. Emmett tried his hardest to monopolize Rosalie, but she didn't seem to be complaining. This left Bella and me to our own devices.

"So, Bella, have you ever played 20 questions?"

"Oh, I love that game! Okay, you go first." She smiled at me, and I grinned back at her.

"Hmmm, favorite color?" I thought I would start with the general stuff and just try and get to know her better.

"Green," she answered immediately, and then a deep blush took over her skin. _I wonder what that is all about. _

"My turn! What about you, what is your favorite color?

"Usually blue, but I have been known to love chocolate brown just as well." I grinned again and waited for her next question.

"Favorite movie?"

We continued like this for at least an hour, asking silly questions like 'what was your most embarrassing moment' to just normal 'how many siblings do you have?' type questions. I learned so much about her in that short amount of time, but I knew that I would always want to know more. As we continued talking and asking questions, I could feel the attraction I felt towards her growing stronger and stronger. There was more to Bella than just a pretty face. She was intelligent, and that drew me in more than her beauty.

An hour or so later, Alice suggested that we all head to the coffee shop to get hot cocoa and warm up a little. We grabbed a huge booth and slid in, guys on one side, girls on the other. We girls whispered together for a while and we all just sat in a comfortable silence, sipping from our mugs and trying to get warm.

Too soon, the girls decided that they were ready to head out. We all stood around awkwardly for a minute, then gave small waves and said goodbye. Em, Jazz, and I stood and watched the girls drive off. After the left, we stared at each other in disbelief at our luck in meeting with the girls today, and then sat back down to finish our drinks.

* * *

><p><span>Sunday (5 days till dance)<span>

**Bella POV**

"So Rose, where did you live before you moved to New York?" Alice asked before sliding another piece of sushi into her mouth.

We had decided to make today a complete girls day, so Alice booked us mani/pedi appointments at a local spa before we headed to get something to eat. Rose said that she had passed this new sushi restaurant a few times and wanted to try it, so we found ourselves in a cozy booth surrounded by plates of food.

"My family lived in Boston, but my dad's company moved here a few weeks ago, so here I am," Rose replied.

"That's awesome! I always wanted to go there, but my dad isn't a traveler, so that probably won't happen any time soon." I sighed, wishing that we could take a trip.

"We should take a road-trip!" Alice got this really excited look on her face, and I knew that as soon as that idea got into her brain, she wouldn't stop until it became a reality.

We continued to talk about random stuff until all of our food was gone. Then we asked about what we got for our next secret santa gift. I got Edward two movie passes, hopefully that we could use together after the dance. Alice got a giftcard to the Giant's store for Emmett, then Rose shocked us all by telling us who her secret santa was.

"For Jasper, I-" and that was as far as she got, because Alice cut her off with her signature squealing.

"Oh my God! Oh my God! Oh my God! You have Jasper? Ahhhh I'm so jealous! He is so dreamy and he has the cutest accent!" After her little rant, Alice sighed and got this dazed look on her face.

When we got to Rose's house, we popped popcorn and baked cookies to snack on while we had a chick flick marathon. We wrapped our gifts, and I tied a little bag full of the caramel kisses I had purchased yesterday to leave with Edward's gift when I gave it to him. With that out of the way, we turned our attention back to _27 Dresses_ which was playing on the screen, and continued to snack and lounge on our girls day together.


	5. Chapter 5

Monday (5 days till dance)

**Bella POV**

It was Monday morning, and I was excited, because Monday meant that we were that much closer to the dance. _And that much closer to telling Edward that I am his secret santa! _I secretly wished I had a calendar on my wall with a little heart drawn around the date, but I contented myself with a mental version of my countdown.

I decided not to straighten my hair today, but ever since Saturday and my almost-sorta-not really but I'm pretending it was-date with Edward, I knew that I had to make sure to look my best this week, or better than I usually did at least. I decided on a black cardigan with a gold studded belt, gold flower earrings, and black Uggs. Making sure I had Edward's latest gift in my bag, I went down stairs to grab a granola bar and wait for Alice and Rose to pick me up.

This time, Rose was joining us on our ninja mission. We all pretended to be in a James Bond movie, minus the rolling around on the floor, as we peeked around corners and crouched behind water machines. By the time we got to the guys' lockers, we were all giggling and shushing each other, trying to stay quiet.

"Bella, you go to Edward's locker, I'll head to Jasper's, and Ali can head to Emmett's. Meet back here at eight hundred on the dot!" Rose ordered with a smile.

"Synchronize your watches ladies!"

"Okay, break!" I added, and we went off on our respective missions.

I ran down the hall towards Edward's locker, and then paused to grab the gift and the candy out of my bag. I also grabbed the little note that I wrote last night after I got home from Rose's house that I would stick to the inside door of his locker. I placed my next gift in the empty space right in the front of his locker, put up the note, and shut the door, mentally patting myself on the back.

Rose was just finishing placing her gift as well; she bought Jasper a cowboy hat. I thought she was an absolute genius with that gift, because Jasper had a hint of a southern accent, giving him the hat seemed like the perfect gift. When she was done, we rushed back to our meeting place. Alice was waiting for us, a grin on her face.

"Well ladies, I have to say mission complete!"

We did a group high five and walked down the hall, going to sit in our respective first period classes until the day actually started.

"Bella! Hey Bella, wait up!"

I was walking towards my locker before lunch when I heard someone calling me from down the hallway. I stopped and turned to see who I was, and I felt my knees start to wobble when I saw Edward waving and moving down the hall towards me. I waved back and smiled, waiting for him to reach where I was standing.

"Hey Bella! You headed to lunch?"

I nodded, but told him I needed to stop at my locker first, so he decided to accompany me on my little pit stop.

We walked down the hallway, talking about what we were going to do from break. Edward said that he and his family were planning on sticking around here for the break, and I told him that my family planned on doing the same. We were talking about what we were asking for from Santa when we stopped in front of my locker. I opened it and grinned, seeing the next gift from my secret santa.

"What caused all the smiling?" he asked, then peeked into my locker. "Ahh, a gift from your secret santa! Are you going to open it now?"

I thought about it, and then decided to just go for it. "Sure, I think I will! Will you hold my bag for me?"

I handed him my stuff and tore into the paper that wrapped my latest gift. A beautiful royal blue shirt laid inside. I gasped, and then reached for the note that was tied to the candy cane.

_Bella,_

_Your beautiful skin will only look  
><em>_more so when paired with the color of  
><em>_this shirt._

_- Your Secret Santa_

"Edward, can you believe this? I have such an awesome secret santa! I'm pretty sure it's a guy, but what guy would really be this sweet?"

Edward had a funny look on his face, but he smiled at me none-the-less.

"That really is kind of amazing, Bella. But, what if it's some girl who has a teeny little crush on you!" I teased, and she rolled her eyes at my joke.

"Yeah, but I'd like to believe it is a guy that wants to sweep me off my feet by the time the dance comes around"

He chuckled at my dreaming and opened my backpack so I could slide my new gift inside. I kept the candy cane in my hand, twirling it on my finger as Edward and I continued down the hall towards the lunch room.

* * *

><p><strong>Edward POV<strong>

_She liked it, no, she __**loved**__ it, _I thought to myself as I walked Bella to the lunch room. I wasn't sure about getting her a shirt, but when I was shopping around yesterday, I knew that she would look awesome in that color, so I had to buy it for her.

_Way to be, Cullen. Thinking about which color would look best on her skin. Next thing you know, you'll be picking out make-up for the girl._

I ignored my thoughts, because picking out a shirt and writing a note would bring that smile on her face, then I was glad to do it a hundred times over.

We walked down the hall, Bella twirling the candy cane that I gave her on her finger, completely oblivious to the fact that it was me who has been leaving these gifts for her. When we arrived at the cafeteria, I walked with her to her table, and then waved goodbye, making my way to my own table.

The guys were sitting when I got back with my food. I almost dropped my tray when I looked at Jazz. He was sitting at the table with a cowboy hat on, but that wasn't the hilarious part. He also had on cowboy boots and was singing some country song to Emmett, who looked like he wanted to throttle Jasper.

"J, man, what is going on? What's with the get-up? You look like you jumped out of some old western movie and into the 21-century," I said, trying my hardest to keep a straight face.

"Isn't this awesome, man? I got this from my secret santa! It's like they knew that I always dreamed of being a cowboy!" he answered enthusiastically.

"Jazz, I think it had more to do with your accent than any secret desire of yours to be a cowboy."

"Whatever. Stop trying to crush my dreams! And speaking of crushes, don't think that we aren't going to comment on you walking into the cafeteria with Bella Swan. What's the deal man?"

"You already know that I like her. And ever since we all sort of hung out at the festival, I want to get to know her more. She is really interesting, and its kind of fun whenever I'm around her. But enough about me and my obvious desire to go on a date with Bella. What's going on with you and the pixie?

Jasper got this funny look on his face, and then I knew that he and I were in the same boat.

"She's great man, and she has got so much energy. She makes me feel more energized just being around her. It's like drinking a red bull, without actually drinking it."

"Dude, you've got it bad! Look at you guys and your girly crushes, gossiping about it at the lunch table. Should we plan a slumber party, complete with the chick flicks while we do each other's hair?" Emmett asked, batting his eyelashes at us. _Like he really has room to talk._

"Like you really have room to talk! What's with you going all gaga over Rosalie the second we saw them? 'Rosie! Rosie! Do you remember me?" Jasper said, echoing my exact thoughts.

Emmett's face turned surprisingly red, and he refused to even acknowledge we had said anything. Instead, he redirected our attentions to the secret santa game.

"So we know that Jazz got his new favorite cowboy hat, what did you get, Eddiekins?"

I decided in that moment to ignore his nickname and just answer the question. I told them about the movie tickets with the caramel kisses. I also told them about the note that I got with this gift.

"It said, _'Edward, hopefully you wait until the break to make use of these tickets. Maybe even for a date, one for you, one for me. –Your Secret Santa'_," I told them.

"Dude! What if your secret santa is from the Tanya's brat brigade? What if it is Tanya?"

And there went my enthusiasm. Emmett had this knack for pretty much destroying any joy I was feeling at any particular moment.

"I'm going to pretend that you didn't just say that to piss me off. Clearly none of them would even be able to buy a decent gift, and especially not be able to write a note. I bet you if any of them had any of us, we would end up with furry handcuffs or lip gloss," I ranted, a scowl overtaking my features.

The guys, however, thought this was hilarious and proceeded to laugh heartily for at least five minutes. I was still kind of mad, but I could see the why they were laughing. Just thinking of having Tanya or even one of her friends was enough to make my skin crawl.

I heard the bell ring, and I stuffed the last few bites of my sandwich into my mouth before tossing away my trash and heading towards the doors.

I had walked a few feet when I heard Bella and her friends talking behind me. They were giggling and whispering to each other, but I tuned in when I thought I heard someone say my name.

"Are you going to do anything about it? You have to let Edward know!"

I couldn't tell whose voice it was, as they were whispering, but I was now very intrigued. _Who was trying to let me know something? And what did they want to tell me?_

* * *

><p><strong>AN: A little mystery is added to the pot! Reviews make my heart sing and inspire me to update faster!**


	6. Chapter 6

Tuesday (3 days till dance)

**Bella POV**

First period was dragging on. _It should be illegal to have to sit through an hour long World War I lecture before nine o'clock in the morning, _I thought to myself. I absent mindedly doodled on the paper I was supposed to be taking notes on, my other hand busying itself with the necklace I got from my secret santa.

I was so excited for Friday that I could feel it radiating through my body. Even though I wasn't the best dancer – scratch that, I wasn't a dancer _period_ – I knew that it was going to be a fun night. Even better when I found out who my secret santa was! I was busy drawing snowflakes, having moved on from snowmen, on my paper when the bell finally rung. I didn't think I had moved so fast in my life, practically running out of the classroom and to my locker. _Jeez Bella, eager much?_

I opened the door, but was a little disappointed when I didn't see a gift waiting for me. _What did you really expect? It's only __**just**__ after first period, _I scolded myself. I perked back up instantly, grabbing my books and heading off to English.

After third period, I was walking down the hallway when I heard Rosalie calling be from a few feet away.

"Bella! Hey girl, what's up?

"Hey Rose! Just walking down the hallway, you know, in school…like everyone else," I teased.

She rolled her eyes at me, and I laughed at my own pseudo-snarkiness.

"What ever, smartass. But that's not what I came here to talk about. In shop class, Emmett was telling me how he was going to talk the guys into going sledding and maybe even a snowball fight after school, and he wanted to know if we wanted to join! So, whatcha think? You want in?"

I thought about it, and it sounded really fun. Who wouldn't want to have a giant snowball fight and go sledding? It has been snowing for days, but we have yet to take advantage of it.

"That sounds like fun, Rose! I'm definitely in. Have you talked to Alice yet?"

"Not yet," she said. "But I know that as soon as I mention that Jasper will be there, she will be all for it."

We both laughed, because we knew the truth in that statement.

I stopped at my locker again after talking to Rose, just a little curious to see what might be waiting, but I was once again a bit early, since my locker looked exactly the same as it did the last time that I visited it. I could feel the disappointment, but I told myself that having an early secret santa was spoiling me, so I sucked it up.

I turned to head to class when I was hit with a cold blast of air. Edward was rushing into school, face and ear red, and coat covered in fluffy snow. _Looks like someone was running a bit late today._ He seemed to be heading in my direction, but when he looked up and saw me, he suddenly stopped. He smiled, his gloved hand waving at me, then quickly turned around and ran towards his locker. _I wonder why he was coming in this direction at first when his locker is down the other hallway. _I shrugged to myself, getting my stuff for the rest of my classes before lunch, and proceeded to go through my day.

...

When I finally reached our lunch table, tray in hand, Rose and Alice were deep in conversation, discussing the sledding that was going to happen after school.

"Rose! We are going sledding? I haven't done that since I was little, so how am I going to know how to dress? We are going to be around the boys, so looking good is not an option. But how am I supposed to look my best all covered in snow and bulky winter gear?" At the end of her rant, Alice sat back with a huff, her bottom lip poked out in a pout.

"Alice, come on! The boys aren't really going to care if you are bulky with your coat and boots. Just think of it like this, you look good now. If Jasper – because you know that you don't care what Edward and Emmett thinks – sees you like you do normally, there is nothing to worry about!"

I applauded Rosalie and her argument. "Good point, Rose! Ali, give it a break for today and just have fun. Hanging out with the boys is a lot more fun than just dressing up around them."

I could see that our points were really being driven home, and that Alice was seeing things from our point of view. Then, all of a sudden, Alice flew up from her slouched position and plastered a smile on her face. I turned around to see what had caused such an about-face, and came face to face – actually more like face to abs – with all three boys.

"Can we join you ladies for a moment?" Jasper drawled. "We have a few details to iron out."

They pulled up a few chairs and set down their trays. I happened to glance around the cafe at that moment and was met with two angry glares. Jessica had more of disbelief mixed with pure jealously in her look. The second, however, could wilt flowers. Tanya's eyes were jumping between the three of us, each glare a mix of pure jealousy and lots of rage.

Alice turned to see what was causing the slightly amused look on my face, and burst out laughing when she saw the girls. "They know that if they keep that up, permanent wrinkles and crow's feet will become their best friends!"

Us girls giggled while the boys looked on, confused looks adorning all of their faces as to what we were giggling about.

"So girls, we have lots of things to discuss!" Emmett boomed.

"Shut up, Emmett! The only thing that we need to discuss is what time we are meeting," Rose said to her fingernails, but the smirk on her face gave her away.

"Okay, okay. We figured that we would meet at the park near the hills at 2:45. That will give us all a chance to get our winter gear and head out."

I swooned a little at the sound of Edward's voice. It sounded like pure silk, and since he was sitting so close to me, I could just take it in and…well swoon!

"Bella? Bella? Are you okay there, girlfriend?"

Alice's voice broke me out of my reverie, and I didn't even have to look up at her to see the look that I'm sure she was giving me. Stupidly, I glanced at her and saw a Cheshire cat grin spread wide across her face. Rose was sporting the same look, and I held in a groan. _Stupid friends and their catching me while I was basking in Edward!_

_..._

We got to the park right before our scheduled meeting time, buckled down in our winter wear. I was wearing the cute new gloves that I found in my locker right before the end of the day. I was eating the candy cane that always seemed to find its way in with my gifts while I waited for the girls to get out of the car. Alice was worried about hat hair, and Rose was trying to make sure that her jeans were tucked into her boots in just the right way. _They are so obsessed!_

I looked around to see if the boys were here, and was happy to see Edward's sleek black car pull up a few spaces over from ours. I knocked on the car window, and the girls quickly piled out and stood beside me, primped and prepared to have fun in the snow with the boys.

* * *

><p><strong>Edward POV<strong>

_I can't believe I almost let that happen this morning! Come on, Cullen, you are more stealth-like than that! _I scolded myself.

I was still thinking about almost walking directly into Bella and unintentionally handing her the next secret santa gift, even though it was many hours later and I was now pulling into a parking spot in the park. I had picked out new gloves for her, because I was at a serious loss for what to get her next. They were a navy blue and had silver snowflakes on them, so I hoped that she would like them.

I was running late this morning because I got a flat, so I had to wait for AAA to come because I didn't have a spare. I was so intent on putting the gift in her locker as soon as I got to school that I didn't even realize that she was standing there until I was pretty much in front of her. I made a quick turnaround and went in the direction of my own locker, mad that I almost blew my own cover.

I pushed away the thoughts of earlier since we were now about to have a good time with the girls. _The important part is that she got her gift. _The guys jumped out of the car and we made our way over to where the girls were standing, Emmett and Jasper carrying all of the sleds.

"Rosie! Bella! Pixie! How's is shakin'?" Emmett asked in his normal, loud manner.

"The name is Alice, not Pixie you jolly green giant!"

I laughed at Alice and the way she put Emmett in his place, turning to Bella and seeing a carefree smile on her face. I wanted to pull her into my arms, but was luckily distracted by Jasper telling us to get this show on the road.

...

"AHHHH! I'm flying!" Bella yelled, sitting on the sled with Alice and Rosalie as they flew down the hill. Seconds later, all three girls we in a tangled heap, laughing loudly.

All six of us trudged back up the hill, sleds in hand and giant smiles on our faces. We all decided that we were going to go down in pairs this run, racing to see who would get to the bottom of the hill first. I called to Bella and motioned her to get on behind me. She climbed on, her arms wrapped securely around my torso and her legs on either side of mine. When she moved towards me of me, I caught the scent of vanilla that wafted from her body. It was sweet, but not overpowering, and it suited Bella perfectly.

At Emmett's signal, we all took of down the hill. Bella squealed and buried her face into my back. I let out a loud "woohoo!" as we flew down the slope. When we reached the bottom, the momentum flipped our sled and I ended up on my back with Bella sprawled out on my chest.

She looked down at my face and moved slightly to her right. The next thing that I knew, I had a face full of snow and Bella was off my chest, giggling and running in the other direction.

"Oh, now you've done it! Come back here and meet your maker!" I shouted at her, already packing a snowball between my gloves, poised to launch. It just so happened to be Emmett who was the closest to me, so I threw my snowball, hitting him square in the forehead.

"You little –" He started, but then Rose hit him with another snowball. This began an all out war between the six of us, handfuls of snow flying everywhere when someone didn't have the chance to make a snowball. Jasper, Emmett, and I decided to ambush the girls, each of us with at least five snowballs in our arms. We hid behind trees until we got close enough to them.

"CHARGE!" Emmett called, and we fired at them. Their shrieks and laughs told us that we hit our targets.

"We surrender! You guys win!" Alice said, and she and the girls threw themselves down in the snow.

"Okay guys, how about we head to the coffee shop across the street and warm up?" I suggested, holding out my hands to help the girls up off of the ground. They shook the snow off of their backs and shoes, and then we all started walking to our next destination.

The coffee shop was toasty warm, and we quickly found a booth near the fireplace that would seat our group.

"Bella, I like your gloves," I commented, wanting to see if she liked them or not.

"Thanks! I got them from my secret santa today, and they were so cute that I had to wear them as soon as possible!"

That gave me a real ego boost. I liked knowing that she genuinely liked the gifts that I picked out for her, and it made me feel good that she actually wore them.

"Edward, I really like your scarf! The color is really nice," she commented.

"I got it from my secret santa as well. I guess our secret santa's are hoping that we will be warm this winter," I said with a wink.

She got this triumphant look on her face, but since I couldn't figure out what caused it, I just shrugged it off.

Our group talked within ourselves for a while, drinking our drinks and snacking on a bunch of cookies that we bought. Before long, it was time to head home.

"Guys, this was so much fun! We all have to hang out together very soon. I have a feeling that this is the start of beautiful friendships!" Alice finished her speech with a firm nod.

"I concur! We will all be best friends now!" was Emmett's boisterous response.

We saw the girls back to their car after paying out bill. We waved at their car as they pulled out of the parking lot and heading in the direction of their houses.

"Guys, we are so whipped already," Jasper said.

_You have no idea, my friend._

* * *

><p><strong>AN: Happy New Year everyone! Please review!**


	7. Chapter 7

Wednesday (2 days till dance)

**Bella POV**

_Waking up to love, every morning - , _was the song that greeted me when I woke up this morning. I took a moment to shut off the alarm, and then threw myself back across my mattress. I replayed the hours that were spent out in the snow yesterday, us goofing around and enjoying the winter weather. _And Edward_, the little voice in my head sighed.

Being around him yesterday made my feelings for him that much stronger. He was sweet when it came to sharing his sled, but nothing captured me heart more than the boyish grin that overtook his features when he was flying down the slopes. We were all so carefree together; that was such a commodity since this was really only the second time that we all hung out. I knew that this was bringing us all closer, and we would be friends for a long time to come after this holiday season.

I figured that five minutes was enough time to spend daydreaming, so I pushed myself to my feet and headed off to the shower. Today felt like a day for my favorite strawberry scented body wash, but I was a little sad to see that I didn't have a lot left. I shrugged it off though, and continued on with my morning routine. After my shower, I blow dried my hair and twirled it around my curling iron to make big, bouncy curls. _Alice would be so proud of me right now!_

I checked in my closet to see what my latest outfit would consist of, but today just felt like one of those days. I decided to dress down a little, so I tossed on a pair of black yoga pants, a grey shirt, and my black Converse. I left my hair to fall over my shoulders in curls, put on some light eyeliner, and ran down the stairs to grab a granola bar and jump in Alice's car.

"Bella, did you remember to bring Edward's gift?" Alice asked excitedly, already knowing the genius that was my most recent gift.

"Yup! It's sitting right in its little package in my bag, Ali."

"Bells, what did you get for this gift?" Rose asked from her spot in the back seat.

"I made him a date voucher! I wish I could see the look on his face when he opens it. And, of course, I got Hershey kisses to put with the gift. I decided on white and milk chocolate swirled ones this time!"

"That's such a cute idea for a gift, Bella! I wish I was that creative with my gifts. But, then again, I also am not head over heels in love with my person either, so doing something like that wouldn't make much sense."

I felt my face heat up and I shot a glare in her direction, but I couldn't be too angry since what she was saying wasn't too far off from the truth. While I wasn't head over heels for Edward, I definitely wanted something more with him.

We got to school a little early, just like we've been doing all week since this game started. I stopped off at my locker to get my books first, taking out Edward's gift so I could head down to his locker next. I shut my locker and started heading in the direction of his when I ran right into Jessica. _Please don't let her talk to me; please don't let her talk to me._

"Bella! What are you doing here so early?"

"Jessica, how do you know that I don't get here at this time everyday? Maybe you are just here early. Is there something I should know about?"

My comment threw her for a loop. I could see her trying to comprehend what just came out of my mouth as if I had just spoken to her in latin. _This girl needs a few more brain cells. _

She shook her head a little, but then her eyes zoomed in on the little bag that I was holding in my hand.

"Oh, a gift? So you are planting a gift? For who? I know your locker isn't around here, so who could it be? Don't you want to tell me?"

My eyes widened at her and her mini interrogation, then side-stepped her and continued down the hall, ignoring her as she called my name and said that she would see me later. I walked a circle around the floor once to make sure that I wouldn't run into Jessica again, and then ran down to his locker to plant the gift before anymore unwanted visitors would appear.

I turned around to walk back the way that I came, but my heart almost stopped when I spotted a familiar mop of bronze hair. I looked both ways to see where I could hide, and I saw the stairwell that was just across the hall. I dove towards the doorway, barely making it out of sight before Edward arrived at his locker. I stayed crouched in the doorway, wanting to finally witness his reaction to one of my gifts first hand. He opened it locker, and the first thing that he reached for was his gift. His bag was tossed to the ground as the ripped the tissue paper out of the bag and pulled out the little voucher booklet. He flipped through it, then looked up and down the hall with a giant smile on his face. I did a mental fist-pump since it put a smile on his face.

I ran down the stairs and came back up the other side of the building, closer to my own class. I had an unshakable smile on my face, so proud of myself for making Edward happy with my gifts.

...

"Bella! Come sit down girl, we have so much to discuss and plan for!"

I heard Alice from about ten feet away, but did nothing to quicken my pace to reach her faster. Usually when she said things like that, it almost always meant some sort of Bella dress-up, and while I didn't mind looking cute, spending three hours to get there is a little excessive.

"Perk up a little, my friend. I know you are going to be happy with our subject! We are talking about the dance, and we are most definitely going shopping right after school tomorrow, so we need to have a game plan and discuss strategy!"

I swallowed a groan, because while I didn't exactly know how Rose was, she seemed to match Alice in the enthusiasm department when it came to shopping. The thought made me happy at first, because I wouldn't have to be subjected to Ali on a tirade, but then I remembered that I was friends with them both, and therefore it only seemed logical that they would try and team up on me now.

I happily enjoyed my lunch, pretending to listen to their planning and nodding my head when I thought it would be appropriate. I started to tune back into their conversation when they started to talk less about where they want to go and what order to hit said stores, and more about the actual outfits.

"Bella, what color do you think you want to wear? I mean, with your skin, you could really wear any color," Alice said.

"Ali, I think that with her hair, she would either have to wear something in the blue family, or even something green."

"Rose, while I do agree with you, green just seems to stereotypically holidays to me. But, blue? I think you might be on to something! What do you think, B?"

I was almost a little shocked that they actually cared about my input. "I get an option? Wow, I feel a little honored." They rolled their eyes at me, but waited for my answer.

"When I was thinking about the dance, I pictured myself in a midnight blue dress with maybe a half up-half down hair style."

Alice was staring at me as if I had broken down the philosophy of life, and then a huge smile overtook her features. She looked at Rose, and they exchanged silent words, and then turned their attentions back to me.

"Rose, I think she is ready!"

* * *

><p><strong>Edward POV<strong>

After putting Bella's gift and in her locker and stopping at mine earlier, I couldn't shake the feeling that I was being watched. I had looked around, but was unsuccessful in finding anything out of the norm. I decided to let it go and focus on the task at hand, which unfortunately was waiting for Emmett to find his way out of the building so we could head to the mall.

It was almost two hours after school had ended, but Emmett insisted that he wanted to come with us, so Jazz and I had to come back to the school to get him. _What could he possibly have to do that took over an hour? _

He finally came out of the building, wearing the funniest hat I had ever seen in my life. It was a baseball hat, but it had ear flaps attached to it.

"Emmett, where did you get that hat?" Jasper asked.

"My secret santa, man! This person is amazing. I've been getting awesome gifts, but I wonder how they are going to top this one."

We rolled our eyes at Emmett's exuberance and piled in my car. I turned on the radio and Rudolph came blasting through the speakers. Jasper and Emmett took that opportunity to have a karaoke session, belting out the lyrics and making faces at each other. I shook my head, but decided that if I couldn't beat them, why not join them? Soon enough, all three of us were singing along to the upbeat carols that played on the radio.

...

"Eddie, when are you going to be done shopping for all of this girly crap and get onto the good stuff like video games?" Emmett whined.

"Emmett, when you find someone that you want to find genuinely good gifts for, remind me not to take you."

He walked away, grumbling about love sick fools or something. I had already got her a bath gift set today, so I didn't really know what she would like next. I finally decided to take the safe route and get her a gift card to the book store and a vanilla scented candle in a fancy box. I even found a gift card holder for the card to make it seem like more of a gift. I knew she liked to read from that time that we played 20 questions, so I knew it would at least be a gift that I knew she would like.

Jasper was getting a hair band with reindeer on it or something for his person, while Emmett went to the comic store and got Lauren a pack of those food shaped erasers. We thought that it was so funny that Emmett was trying so hard to get random gifts that Lauren would not appreciate. We were walking towards the candy store when I saw a bracelet in the window of some store. It was all glass beads of different shades of blues, and I knew that it was the missing puzzle piece from my gift. I decided to splurge a little on her gift and include it. I felt accomplished and patted myself on the back a little.

I joined the guys back in the game store, and we played a few of the demos before Emmett and Jasper decided to buy some new football game that I already had, and we made plans to play it once we got home.

I dropped off the guys and pulled into the garage. It was freezing outside, so I ran to the door and put my coat in the closet before heading to my room to put on sweat pants and a sweat shirt. I spread out on my floor to put her gift together. I was stumped on how to put it in when my mom walked into my room, sitting across from me to help me with my struggles.

"Edward, who is this for?" She asked, suspicion laced with excitement evident in her voice.

"It's for secret santa, mom. I'm just having a little trouble with what to put where."

In no time, my mom had the gift in the bag with the tissue paper, and it looks like it came right off a magazine set and into my room. I gave her a hug before sticking the candy cane into the corner. I pulled off my sweatshirt as I had warmed up quite a bit, and started to head to the kitchen to get something for dinner. I shut my light off and padded down the stairs, mentally calculating the hours until I would get to hold Bella in my arms, spinning around the dance floor under the twinkling lights, and kissing her under the mistletoe.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: Sorry about the wait everyone! Things have been super crazy, but I have gained control of them, and have already started on the next few chapters! Please review and tell me what you think! Isn't Edward a sweetie pie?**


	8. Chapter 8

Thursday (1 day till dance)

**Bella POV**

"Alice! Must you call me before I even start to get dressed? It's like you have some weird sense of when I get out of the shower!"

"Bella, how many times do I have to tell you that I am psychic before you actually believe me? But anyways, that is not the reason that I called you. I wanted to tell you to make sure to wear comfortable clothes because we are going shopping as soon as the final bell rings, no complaints. See you in fifteen." And with that she hung up.

I usually hated going shopping, but this was no ordinary day of shopping. We were buying our dresses today, and I wanted mine to be perfect, because it was going to be the outfit that Edward saw me in when I confessed that I was his secret santa! That made me excited to spend hours upon hours in the mall.

_Hmm, now what to wear, _I thought to myself. Alice said that I should be comfortable, so I threw on a pair skinny jeans with a grey long sleeved shirt, and my black Ugg boots. They were the most comfortable shoes I owned, and I knew that they would come in handy if we were going to be trying on clothes and walking around for a long period of time. I checked the clock and saw that I had about eight minutes before Ali and Rose would be here, so I grabbed Edward's gift that I made yesterday, which was a mix CD of Christmas songs on piano and an iTunes gift-card. I was at such a loss for his gift, because I never really bought gifts for a guy, but I remember him telling me about his love for piano and music, so I thought that the holiday mix would be perfect. _Hopefully he will like it!_

I was so lost in my thoughts, I didn't even hear when Alice beeped the horn to alert me to her presence, and I was startled by the ringing of my phone.

"I'm coming!" I said into the phone, flying down the stairs, out of the door, and into her car.

"Hey ladies, sorry I was late. Let's get a move on so I can put this gift in its place!"

"Some one is awfully chipper this morning! Is there something that you should be telling us Bella?" Rose asked, and teasing glint in her eye.

"Nope! Can't I just be happy for today? You should embrace my mood and hope that it lasts throughout our shopping trip, because Alice will tell you that shopping with a grumpy is not a fun thing," I said, completely serious.

"It's true, Rose. Let's hope that Bella stays this chipper all day, because I don't know if I will be able to deal with her if she isn't!"

I sat back in my seat and listened to the music, my good mood not waning even a little with the thought of the shopping torture that is Rose and Alice that I was sure to endure.

...

Tip-toeing down the hall, I checked to make sure that Edward wasn't at his locker. I didn't notice his car in the parking lot a few minutes ago, but that didn't mean that he couldn't have arrived in the time that it took me to shed my coat and grab his gift from my bag.

I arranged the wrapped CD and giftcard at the very front of his locker, and then placed the bag with the mint chocolate kisses right beside them. I took a tiny step back to admire my work, and then turned to head back to my own locker.

I went through first and second period, my eyes drooping after what felt like forever of listening to teachers drone on and on about things that I knew I would probably never use again after I graduated. I stopped off at my locker to change my books and saw Edward walking in the opposite direction that I had just come from.

"Hey, Edward!" I called to him, a smile on my face and my hand in the air as I waved at him.

He turned around at the sound of my voice, and then a huge smile that mirrored my own spread across his face. He waved back at me, and then turned back in the direction of whichever class he was headed to. I thought that it was a little weird that he was over this way again, but then again, I had no idea where he was coming from. I shrugged to myself a little, returning my attention back to the task at hand.

I opened my locker, and was surprised to see my secret santa had left my latest gift. I really was excited to see who is was, because the gifts that I had been getting were amazing, and I couldn't wait to thank them for being so thoughtful.

I ripped the tissue paper out of the bag and saw a pretty cream colored candle in a fancy glass holder. I took the lid off and was surrounded with a light vanilla scent. It was amazing and I absolutely loved candles, so I was happy about my gift. I looked in the bag again and was surprised to see additional gifts. I pulled out a gift card to the bookstore, and I knew that it would be put to great use.

The final gift was by far the most amazing. It was a bracelet of glass beads, each bead a mix of different shades of blue. It was the prettiest thing that I had ever seen in my life, and I immediately put it on my wrist. I admired it for a few seconds before I realized that I only had a minute to get to my next class. I threw my books my locker, grabbed the things I would need until lunch, and ran down the hall to make it to class on time.

...

I was sitting at the lunch table, admiring my bracelet when Alice and Rose finally arrived with their lunches, talking, predictably, about the shopping trip that we would be taking in just a couple of hours. I saw the moment that Alice spotted the bracelet, because her eyes honed in on the beads and she stopped listening to their conversation. Rose soon became aware and looked to where Alice was, and her eyes widened also. They both sat down, and then my wrist was pulled in two different directions.

"Wow! Is this your latest gift? Nice B! You have an amazing secret santa."

"I'm so jealous right now! Why couldn't I get the secret santa with the amazing gift choices? My gift was a holiday water bottle. The reusable metal kind," Alice said, a grimace on her face as she thought about her latest gift.

"At least you've been getting normal gifts! I got one of those gag moustaches today. Like, who really buys that type of stuff? What are we, in middle school?"

I laughed a little at Rose, because I couldn't imagine who her secret santa could be.

"Watch some nerdy freshman have you, Rose. That would explain the lame gifts," I commented.

She ignored me and went back to her conversation with Alice about the dresses and shoes and jewelry that they planned on buying once we got to the mall. I went back to my own thoughts of the dance, specifically dancing with Edward.

* * *

><p><strong>Edward POV<strong>

I looked over at Bella from my lunch table, and she was gazing off into space, lost in her own thoughts. I saw the bracelet on her wrist, and it put a smile on my own face since she liked it enough to wear it right away.

"Edward, would you take your eyes off of the girl for like two seconds so we can get something done. Are we going to get outfits for the dance? I need a new jacket, and this douche over here said something about a tie."

Emmett's loud voice cuts though my thoughts and I cut my eyes to him, glaring holes in his head.

"Emmett, I told you this morning that I was going to get new pants for my suit today after school. I also told you that if you wanted to come with me that you could. The fact that you couldn't understand my words baffles me."

"Whoa! No need for the big words you nerd. I just wanted to catch your attention before someone caught you staring at Bella and arrested you for sexual harassment!"

"What are you even talking about Emmett?"

"Dude, you were undressing her with your mind. I think that counts as harassment."

If I could, I would have smacked him right then and there. "It's not like that and you know it. Please, do us all a favor and be quiet."

I heard him mumble something about PMS, and I rolled my eyes. I looked over at Jasper and smirked, and he laughed loudly at how I had just shut Emmett down.

"Okay, so we have established that we are going with Edward to get our outfits for the dance. Let's just get through the rest of the day and see what happens," Jasper reasoned.

We all agreed and continued eating our food. I looked up at the guys and saw Emmett staring at Rosalie, his eyes glazed over. I chuckled to myself and spared a glance at Jasper, just to see the same glassy eyed look on his face. I shook my head at their hypocrisy, but just continued to eat the food, letting my thoughts wander back to their favorite subject.

...

"Jasper, should I go with the green shirt or the plain white shirt?" I asked, not able to decide on which would go best with my jacket and pants.

"I would definitely go with the white. It has a more classic look and I like the color better than the green."

I nodded at Jazz and started to put back the green shirt, but was distracted like the loud clapping that was coming from Emmett.

"Congratulations on the expiration of your masculinity. You two have officially become chicks."

Jasper and I looked at each other, smirked, and then turned to blow kisses at Emmett. He grimaced at our behavior, turning to look at the jacket that he was complaining about at lunch.

We all decided to forego buying ties, because we didn't want to take the chance of matching someone like Jessica or Tanya. I knew that even if I showed up wearing the same color as Tanya be accident, she would read more into it and then I would never be able to get rid of her.

On my way home, I wanted to stop off and get a corsage for Bella, but I didn't want it to wilt by the time that the dance came tomorrow night, so I ordered it ahead of time and bought a card that I would leave in her locker as an IOU. Jasper and Emmett were grumpy because they didn't have the girls that they wanted to buy gifts for, so they couldn't buy Alice or Rosalie a corsage like I was doing for Bella.

"Way to try and show us up, Edward. Now what are Alice and Rosalie going to think when Bella has flowers and they don't? If we get in trouble for this, I will not hesitate to tell Bella of the undercover sexual harassment that has been going on at lunch!"

I flipped Emmett off and drove home after paying for flowers. I was planning on leaving her a blue rose in her locker with the card, so I bought that before I left. I was driving down the street towards home, ready for all the excitement that the next day was sure to bring.

* * *

><p><strong>Bella POV<strong>

"Rose! Alice! Do I have to try on any more dresses? I'm tired and so not convinced that we are going to find anything today."

"What do you mean that you don't think that we are going to find anything today? We better find something today! The dance is tomorrow, so not finding something is not an option. Just try on these few, and if we don't find it here, we will try and find something at the next store," Rose said, thrusting the next set of dresses into my arms and shoving me back behind the curtain.

I flipped through the dresses, tossing some in the 'no' pile just because of their colors. _There was no way in hell I was wearing a red dress. I'll save that for Rose. _

The second to last dress was the one that caught my eye immediately. It was the midnight blue color I was dreaming about, so that was a plus. It was one shoulder and came to a few inches above my knees. There was a ribbon band at the waist with a silver jewel in the center. It was perfect. I put it on and I felt amazing. The material was silky and the length was not too short and I knew that I had to have it.

I stepped out of the dressing room, and was immediately met with positive response from the girls. Rose catcalled and Alice was vibrating on her feet. I did a little spin and struck a model pose.

"Bella, that is the dress! And if you don't buy that dress, I will buy it for you, personally put you in it, and carry you over my shoulder to the dance."

I looked at Alice, but she still had yet to say anything. I took that as a good sign and went back into the dressing room to change back into my own clothes. I hung all the other dresses on the return rack and looked over at Rose and Alice. Rose had found a red, strapless dress that she just fell in love with. It was tight and fit her body like a glove, which was absolutely Rose's style.

Alice had found her dress the second that we stepped into the store. It was a light pink dress with spaghetti straps, a sweetheart neckline, and a ballerina skirt. It was so girly and pretty, which was Alice all the way.

"Okay girls, next stop is finding our shoes. Then we need to find the perfect makeup and buy gifts for our guys!" Alice shouted, pushing both me and Rose towards the cashiers.

We found our shoes not too much later. My shoes were silver, strappy, and had sparkly jewels on them to match the ones on my dress. They had a flower jewel over the toe and the heel wasn't so high that I wasn't able to walk in them. I bought them as soon as I took my feet out from trying them on. Rose bought high black booties to go with her dress, and Alice picked out high black strappy heels like mine.

"Rose, Ali, I thought of the perfect final gifts for us to get the guys! We should get them ties and pocket squares to match our dresses. If we leave them in their lockers with directions to wear them to the dance so we can find them, it will be that much more amazing!"

"You are an absolute genius, Bella!" Alice squealed. "Those are the perfect gifts to end the game with. Way to think!"

We rushed down to the men's dress shop to get the ties and pocket squares. I found a tie that matched perfectly with my dress, and the square even had an E embroidered in silver thread. I knew it was perfect for Edward, so I bought them. Rose and Alice found their matches, and we were headed home not too long after.

...

I was sitting at my desk, trying to figure out the perfect note to put with Edward's gift. I had already started over three times before I came up with the perfect response.

_Edward, _

_Make sure you wear these so I can_

_make sure to find you tonight. I would hate_

_to see you matching with the wrong girl._

_See you tonight._

_- Your Secret Santa xoxo _

I smiled to myself when I finished writing it, tucking it into the black bag along with the plain kisses that I was including. I figured that if we were finally coming to an end, I might as well finish where I started in terms of the candy.

After changing into my pajamas, I clicked off my main light. I climbed under my blanket and gazed at my dress that was hanging from the rack on my door. _Only about twenty more hours until I would be exactly where I have been dreaming about for as long as I can remember. _

* * *

><p><strong>AN: We are almost there! I know I can't wait to see what happens next, so I can only imagine how you all feel! I'll try not to take too long in between the next few chapters. In the mean time, leave me a review and tell me what you think!**


	9. Chapter 9

**A/N: I'm so sorry about the wait you guys! I know that you all have been waiting for patiently. So, as a reward for your patience, I decided not to separate the chapters and give you the whole thing all at once. So, here it is, my longest chapter yet!**

Friday (0 days till dance)

**Bella POV**

_Today is the day. Today. Is. The. Day. Today is that awesomely amazing, wonderful, superb, and every other adjective that means amazing, day!_ I sang to myself in my head, dancing around my room with my hairbrush in hand, pretending to perform for an imaginary audience. I had been waiting for this day for over a week, and it finally decided to show its face. My calendar has stars surrounding the date on it, and I was a second away from pressing a kiss to the same spot.

I had a little while before I had to leave for school, so I decided to spend the extra effort to look amazing today. I had just finished straightening my hair, and now it was smooth and shiny and silky. I decided to break out the jeggings that I had worn last time I had gone ice skating with Alice, but I was lost on what shirt to wear. I flipped through my very organized closet, _thank you Alice_, and finally came across a fitted navy blue V-neck sweater. I thought it would be a nice preview, because the dress that I was planning on wearing to the dance was a similar color. I grabbed a bunch of thin silver necklaces to layer, and put in a pair of silver flower earrings. After my makeup application, I was positive that I was ready for the day, and I still had about ten minutes to spare.

I decided to spend that time perfecting Edward's gift. I had written his note before I went to sleep last night, having no doubts about what I wanted it to say. I put the tie and the embroidered pocket square into the baggie, piled in a bunch of the caramel kisses, and turned my attention back to the little card. I was feeling a tad bit adventurous, so I put the card to my lips and pressed a kiss to the paper. When I pulled it away, and light pink impression of my mouth was left in the space. I grinned to myself and tucked it back into the bag. _Let's see what he makes of that!_

I skipped around my house, which was oddly silent for this time of the morning. I didn't think that my dad had already left for work, but maybe he knew that I was going to be really excited and he didn't want to be subjected to it. _Whatever._

I found myself in the kitchen seconds later, grabbing one of the muffins that I had baked last night and taking big bites. I glanced around to make sure I had all the stuff that I needed to go to school, because the only thing that would be able to ruin this day would be leaving Edward's gift at home. After finishing my muffin, I headed out the door to see Rose's car pulling up in front of my house. I hopped in and we sped off for the last time in the next two and a half weeks.

"Bella! How are you, girl? Super excited for tonight?" Rose asked, tapping her fingers against the wheel to the music in the background.

"Obviously I'm excited! Alice is excited also from the way that she is vibrating in her seat, and clearly you are excited because don't think that anyone missed that giant grin that hasn't left your face yet!" I said.

Rose tried to suppress her smile, but she was unable to do so. I chuckled at her efforts and she glared at me, or at least she tried to.

Alice turned and smiled at me, then reached to turn up the radio. _Santa Baby _came through the speakers, and we all started to sing along, loudly, and dance in our seats.

. . . . .

We decided that instead of putting our gifts away separately, we would just go with each other, because everything was so much more fun when we did it in threes. I put Edward's gift in his locker while telling the girls what I did with the card, and loud, girly squeals erupted from all around me. I fought the urge to cover my ears, and just decided to continue on with what we are were doing. When we stopped in front of Emmett's locker, Rose almost had a heart attack, because his locker was so messy that things were falling out from all sides. Even though she wasn't his secret santa, she took it upon herself as his 'honorary girlfriend' to reorganize for him. Within no time, his books were organized and the gift was neatly placed.

"Rose, that was the fastest I have ever seen anyone organize anything! Want to come clean my room for me?" Alice asked.

"Please, Alice! Like you really need Rose to clean your room. You are so anal about everything being in the right place, you would probably have a coronary if you had an errant sparkle lying on you blanket."

Rose guffawed loudly at me, and then turned to pat Alice on the head. "She's right, Ali. I doubt you would ever need my assistance. But, if the time came that you did, I wouldn't hesitate to help you!"

We walked down to our last stop, Jasper's locker, to put away Rose's gift. It was pretty weird that our group got the names of all of the guys that we were into, but I was the only one lucky enough to get paired with my guy.

"Girls, we are so lucky, aren't we?" I asked.

"Right?" Alice replied. "I mean, what are the chances that one of us gets paired with the guy we want, never mind all three of us! I mean, they might not all be in the exact order that we were looking for, but still, what are the odds?"

We continued talking about how lucky we were until we saw more people rounding the corner.

"Look out guys. Evil, Snark, and Bitch at four o'clock," Rose whispered.

We all turned around to see Tanya and her gang coming down the hallway. We turned away from them so they would hopefully continue on their way, but no such luck.

"Why are you wannabes hanging around this hallway? The geeks and nerds that would be interested in you three hang around the library, remember?" Tanya snarled, and her followers tried to mimic her look.

Rose, Alice, and I looked at each other, and then proceeded to laugh loudly.

"Wow, someone should give you an Oscar for that performance, Tanya. Usually someone wouldn't show their insecurities so blatantly. This wouldn't have anything to do with our dear friend Edward shutting you down, would it?" And with that, Rose raised one eyebrow at Tanya, daring her to try and deny it.

Tanya's face turned bright red, the scowl on her face was so tight, I was sure that I would stay on her face all day.

"Who told you about that? I mean, who said anything like that even happened?" She stumbled, but her slip already told us that it was true.

"Clearly you just did. By the way, nice face. That shade of red looks amazing with your red hair," Alice said sarcastically.

Tanya huffed and turned dramatically, walking back in the other direction. We high-fived each other just as the bell rang, alerting us that it was time to go to class.

"Okay, see you guys at lunch!" Alice called. We all waved and then headed off in our separate directions.

. . . . .

I stood at my locker before lunch, as had become my ritual, opening the final gift from my secret santa. This once was different than all of the rest, however, because this was a long, skinny box, and the box was very light. I fought the urge to shake it before just deciding to open it. The box held a single blue rose, which was something that I had never seen before, so I was especially awed, and it held the note that my secret santa always left for me.

_Bella, _

_Think of this as a preview of what it is_

_to come. I wanted to leave you something else, _

_but it would have been a little premature._

_In due time…_

_- Your secret santa_

I brought the flower up to my nose and inhaled, the light flowery smell of a rose filling my senses. I placed it back in the box, not wanting to ruin it, and placed it back into my locker. I felt the smile on my face as I walked down the hallway towards the cafe.

Rose and Alice were walking towards me, and they rushed to my sides once they saw the look on my face.

"So Bella, I'm guessing that smile means that you got something from your secret santa, hmm?"

"It definitely does, Rose! So, what did you get? Trip to Hawaii? Diamond earrings? You might as well tell me because I could keep guessing all day."

"Guys, you know that I am going to tell you! But, since you waited so patiently, I got a blue rose and a note that says that there is more to come."

Rose and Alice both sighed, I'm guessing at the romanticism of my latest gift.

"So, while we are on the topic of gifts, what did you ladies get from your secret santas?"

Rose rolled her eyes and replied with a bored look on her face. "My secret santa clearly doesn't know how to buy gifts for a girl, because I got a bookmark in the shape of an R. I mean, that would be a good gift for someone who loves to read, but the only books that I open are Vogue and Cosmo."

Alice replied after Rose finished. "My secret santa is at least trying, but the sorts of gifts that I have been getting are more fitting for a child. I mean, I got candy cane shaped earrings. They're cute and everything, but I haven't worn themed earrings since middle school."

We laughed together, and then we simultaneously snuck a peak over to the guys' table. They each had the matching bags in their hands and looked as if they were preparing to open our gifts. We trained our eyes on their faces, determined to see what they thought of the things that we bought.

* * *

><p><strong>Edward POV<strong>

We all sat around the lunch table, holding bags that looked exactly the same, but were different colors, mine being dark blue, Jasper having a black one, and Emmett with a red bag.

"Guys, why do our bags look the same? Should we open them to see inside?" Jasper suggested, and we all agreed with him.

I took out the paper that filled the bag, and I managed to pull out the card that came with the gift. I grabbed it off of the table so I could read it.

_Edward, _

_Make sure you wear these so I can_

_make sure to find you tonight. I would hate_

_to see you matching with the wrong girl._

_See you tonight._

_- Your Secret Santa xoxo _

There was a lip mark in light pink that accompanied the note. I felt a little excited at the fact that the dance was tonight, and even more excited to finally meet the person giving me these gifts.

I pulled the contents out of the bag and I was met with a dark blue tie and a pocket square with an E embroidered in silver. Jasper and Emmett were both holding the same gifts that I had, but Emmett's was red like his bag and Jasper had light pink.

"Jeez, first the matching bags and now the matching gifts? What are we, triplets?" Emmett said, but I could tell that he was a little excited as well to find out who his gift-giver was.

"Well, I guess we will find out our secret santas by whoever is wearing the colors that match the gifts the we were given," Jasper said.

I was a little more excited than the average person, especially a guy, should be about this dance, but then again, it wasn't every day that I could tell Bella how I felt about her. _Today was going to be the day._

_. . . . ._

"Would you stop pushing me? If I fall into her door and she comes out and sees us, I will jump in my car and roll you over, do you understand?" I whispered angrily to Emmett.

We were crouching outside of Bella's house where I was trying to lay her last gift. I bought her a corsage to go with her dress, even though I had no idea what color she was wearing. I decided to just take a guess and buy her blue with white flowers mixed throughout, because she could always choose not to wear it if it didn't match.

I left it in front of her door, and then turned to head back to my car. I was in the driver's seat when I saw Emmett running to the car, motioning for me to speed off. I hit the gas just as he jumped in, barely giving him the chance to close the door. Once we were far enough away from her house, I stopped the car, turned to the him in the passenger seat, and shot him a confused look.

"So, are you going to tell me why you had me at a hundred miles per hour in a residential area?"

"Oh, well, I figured that you wouldn't want Bella to find you sitting outside her house in your car when she came to answer the doorbell."

"You rang her doorbell? What the hell?"

* * *

><p><strong>Bella POV<strong>

"Rose, I think I heard someone ring the doorbell. Can we go and see who it is?" I asked, but she wasn't paying me any attention.

"Bella, we only have two hours left before we have to go to the dance, so seeing who or what is at the door is not at the top of my priority list."

I turned my glare on her, crossing my arms, tapping my foot, and refusing to help with her hair anymore.

"Fine. Alice! Before you jump in the shower, want to check the door before Bella has a heart attack?" She called.

Somehow it had been decided that we would be getting ready at my house. Alice spent most of the day saying something about how the lighting in my bedroom was better, so we found ourselves in my room, all taking shifts in the shower and doing each others' hair.

Not to long after I went back to straightening Rose's hair, we heard Alice bounding back up the stairs.

"Bella! You have a little something that someone left outside of your door! Open it now!"

I grabbed the gift out of her hand after putting down the straightener and went to open it. I pulled the little plastic box out of the outer cardboard one, and the girls grinned when the saw the blue corsage that was my gift.

"Bella, if you weren't my best friend, I would totally be jealous of you and the gifts that you have been getting. I mean, how did he even know that your dress was blue? This is way too good to be true, I swear," Alice complained.

"Clearly Santa thought I was good this year, because he gave me an awesome secret santa. Now the only thing he hasn't given me yet is the boy that I want."

"Don't count your chickens before they hatch, Bells. There are still a few days until Christmas. You never know what will happen between now and then!" Rose said excitedly.

Alice went and hopped in the shower, and I continued with Rose's hair. Before too long, it was all done, and she got started on Alice's hair while I took my turn in the shower. I took my time, but also wanted to rush in hope that time would move just as fast.

Rose pushed me into the chair that made up our mobile hair salon the second I finished tying the belt on my robe. She insisted on my hair being swept to one side, falling over my shoulder with out the strap, in big curls, so she set to work on her vision.

Not too long later, we were all done with the hair, so we had a chance to fix our make-up and slip into our dresses. We had about twenty minutes before the dance started, so we decided to kill the extra time just sitting around and talking about the night to come.

"So Bella, what are you going to do when your secret santa reveals himself to you?" Rose asked.

"I don't even know. Like I know that I will have to thank him for being so sweet, but there is no other guy that I want to dance with or anything except Edward. Hopefully the guy will understand."

They both nodded and continued on with the mindless chatter for the last ten minutes until we had to go.

"Okay ladies, time to blow this popsicle stand! Make sure you grab your coats, but try not to wrinkle your dresses!"

Alice then proceeded to grab her keys and run down the stairs, well as much running as she could in heels. Rose and I followed in her footsteps and stepped out into the frigid winter air.

. . . . .

There were twinkling holiday lights everywhere, and when I glanced up at the ceiling, I could see a few pieces of mistletoe hanging from the beams on strings.

"Guys, this looks amazing! It feels so wintery and it fill me with so much holiday spirit!" I gushed.

"I know! Look over at that side; they even have snowmen and little Christmas trees," Alice pointed out.

I looked around, and in addition to the fake snow that littered the edges of the room, there were also Christmas trees and wrapped gifts along with the snowmen. People were milled around talking to their friends, and music was pouring through the speakers.

"Bella, Alice, why don't we go and get a table to put our stuff on and then see what's going on," Rose suggested.

We found the nearest table and put our jackets on the chairs along with the bags that we brought, and then made our way around the area.

"Uh-oh, here comes Jessica again. Let's try and dodge her!"

The three of us turned quickly in the other direction and walked away, ignoring Jessica when she called out all three of our names, telling us to wait up. We snickered to each other once we got away from her, again managing to dodge the clinger.

"Okay guys, enough dawdling. It's time to dance!"

We all went out onto the dance floor and started to enjoy ourselves. There was a mix of songs playing, from fast beats, to upbeat holiday songs, to just normal party music. I was having a lot of fun with my friends, even though dancing wasn't really something I was comfortable doing. Once I got it out of my head, I just focused on enjoying myself, and I was enjoying myself in no time.

About twenty minutes had passed, and we were still dancing and fooling around when I felt a familiar tingle shoot down my spine. I glanced around, but I didn't see the person who was usually the source of those feelings. I shrugged it off and continued what I was doing. Soon, though, I felt it again, and before I got the chance to turn around and check it out, I was faced with a familiar looking blue rose and heard a silky voice whisper in my ear.

"Merry Christmas, Bella."

* * *

><p><strong>Edward POV<strong>

As soon as I put the rose in front of her and whispered in her ear, she whipped around, eyes wide and mouth open.

"How could you…you couldn't be…this isn't possible, is it?"

"Bella, I'm not sure I know what it is that you are talking about, but I didn't want to tell you that you look amazing tonight."

And she did. She had on a dress with one strap that showed off her neck, and her hair was swept over one shoulder in curls. She was beautiful.

"Oh, and one more thing, I guess I made a good choice with the corsage. It was pure luck that it matched your dress." And then I winked at her.

It took a few seconds for what I said to sink in, but the second that it did, a huge grin spread over her face, and she rushed into my arms.

"Oh my God! I can't believe that it was actually you! I was hoping that it would be, but then I wasn't too sure. This has to be fate, because there is no way that anyone else could do this."

I laughed at her babbling and squeezed my arms around her a little tighter.

"Fate had _everything_ to do with this, Bella. Will you do me the honor of dancing with me?"

She nodded, and I grabbed her hand as I led her to the dance floor. Alice and Jasper were already dancing, and Rose was being devoured by Emmett under the mistletoe.

I pulled Bella close as the slow song started. We swayed slowly, enjoying the feeling of being together and with each other. I heard the click of what sounded like a camera, and I whipped my head towards it. My eyes met a grinning Alice and an overly smug looking Jasper.

I looked down at Bella, whose head was resting on my chest, and she grinned lazily up at me, seemingly unaware of anything more than the two of us.

* * *

><p><strong>Bella POV<strong>

I was thoroughly content to just dance with Edward forever. I heard Alice clicking away on her camera, but I didn't care enough to even glance in her direction.

"So, Bella, I know that you now know that I was your secret santa, but there is something else that I have been meaning to tell you for a while."

I nodded at him and grabbed both of his hands, wanting him to know that he had my full, undivided attention.

"Bella, I wanted you to know that I was so excited to be your secret santa. I mean, not only are you beautiful, but you're smart and funny, and I have had feelings for you for a while now. I was too afraid to say anything about it before, but I can't hold them off anymore. I wanted to ask if you would consider going on a date with me?"

I felt my face heat up at his kind words, and I knew without a doubt what my answer was going to be.

"Edward, of course I will go out with you. After all, what would it look like if you're secret santa refused to go out with you?"

The shocked look on his face was well worth my waiting to tell him. The shock then morphed into an astonished grin.

"Wow, we really were meant to be together, weren't we?" he asked.

I nodded, and we turned when we heard the sound of Emmett's voice carrying across the floor.

"Edward, you better get a move on. You're wasting precious mistletoe time!"

I glanced up and saw that we were positioned directly below the sprig of plant. I looked directly into his emerald green eyes, and he raised his right hand to cup my face. He leaned in until he was so close, I could feel his every breath against my lips. I closed the final distance between us, pressing my lips to his and feeling the magic that followed. It was the same magic that led us to each other, and would keep us that way, forever.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: And tis all she wrote! I hope you all liked my story. I am thinking of posting an epi, but I don't know how far into the future you all want to see. Far? Close? Christmas this year? It'll be up to the reviews of all of you that will tell me if you want an epilogue! So get to reviewing!**


	10. Epilogue

**A/N: Hello? Anyone there? I know, I know. It has been about a billion months and I just managed to get this epi out. I ran out of inspiration, and I had to wait until I got it back, because who wants to read a horrible chapter right? I hope it was worth the wait. I'll see you at the bottom!**

**Bella POV**

I stepped outside into the chilly December air, deciding that it was time for a break from the madness. Alice, Rose, the boys, and I had made the decision to go to Edward's cabin in New Hampshire to spend New Years Eve together. I still don't know how I got Charlie to agree to let me go, but it seemed that he liked Edward enough to entrust his only daughter into his care for a few days. The fact that his parents were present as well only helped my cause I'm sure. I gazed up into the night sky, reminiscing on the few short weeks that had gone by and the great memories that they now held.

After the dance when Edward and I figured out that we were each others' Secret Santa, we spent a lot of time just talking and getting to know each other better. Though we had spent time together with our friends, our new-found romance just begged for some alone time. That was soon found then the very next day, Edward showed up at my door in hopes to spend some time together. _And there was no way that I would have been able to deny him, looking shy and adorable with his pink cheeks, no doubt from the cold wind, and the wisps of hair that were poking out from his winter hat._ We spent hours making a snow army; there was no other way to describe what it was. Rows upon rows of snow men, women, children, and animals lined the perimeter of my back yard, our snow angels side by side in the middle. It was the most perfect first date of my life.

The rest of the time was divided between spending time with our respective families and with our mutual friends. It seemed that Edward and I weren't the only ones who found a Christmas romance.

Rosalie and Emmett, and Alice and Jasper got over their shyness and finally started dating. This made for fun triple dates full of bowling, movies, and many other friendly competitions. This was the best Christmas season I had ever experienced.

I continued to stare into the stars, letting the memories run through my mind until I was brought back into reality when a pair of arms snaked their way around my waist, bringing my back to his chest in a warm embrace.

"Bella, are you getting lost in thought again? The least you could have done was do it someplace warm, like the fireplace," he remarked, his green eyes twinkling in the night as I turned in his arms.

"Well why should I move someplace warm when I know that you will come around to keep me nice and toasty?" I replied cheekily, sticking my tongue out at him.

I turned back around and we remained outside for a few minutes longer until the cold started to seep in.

"Let's go inside, babe, before we become a Bella-Edward popsicle."

As soon as we opened the door, Emmett's loud voice boomed though the house. He had had the foresight to bring his Xbox with Kinect, and was currently facing Jasper in a round of Dance Central and losing, terribly.

"Emmett, maybe if you stopped flailing like a fish out of water and actually paid attention to the movements on the screen you wouldn't be losing by so much!" Jasper drawled while continuing to match the moves on the screen.

"I give up! Clearly you play this game way too often, because no one should be that good on their first try. Let's give up the games and get to the good part, the gifts!"

We had all decided to wait until now to exchange gifts with each other. Alice said something about the right environment and it meaning more when we were all together rather than giving the gifts and not being there to see the reaction. This was different than the secret santa as there was no limit on the prices, and we were able to buy a gift for everyone around us.

I gave both Alice and Rose and certificate for a free massage, because I knew how much they both loved to be pampered. For the boys, I had given them tickets so some concert that they had been ranting about for weeks. For Edward, this had taken a little more thought. I knew that he loved to write music, so I had a music book made for him. The cover was customized with his name and a message from me on the inside.

I handed him his gift, and he wasted no time in ripping open the wrappings. His eyes lit up at the sight of his gift, and at that moment I knew that I had made the right choice.

"Bells, this is a perfect gift. I don't know how to thank you for this."

With that, he leaned over and kissed me chastely. I reached down to open my gifts, but Edward grabbed my wrist as I took hold of the first one. "Not that one, baby. Open this one first."

I ripped off the paper on the gift that he handed me and gasped as I saw the Pandora box in front of me. Gingerly removing the lid, I felt the tears in my eyes at the bracelet in front of me. It had a few charms on it already, a fancy letter "B" along with an "E", and a little heart charm. I dove into his lap and peppered his face with tiny kisses.

"Oh Edward, this is the nicest gift you could have gotten me. But this must have cost a fortune! I don't know if I can-"

"No Bell, none of that. The money doesn't matter. All that matters is that I care about you, and I wanted to buy my girlfriend something nice for Christmas."

Our moment was interrupted when Emmett groaned loudly. "Come on you guys, can't you save the lovey stuff for a later date. I am kind of hungry, and the New Year is going to come without any of us getting to celebrate."

Alice, upon hearing the word "celebrate" kicked into high gear and dashed into the other room. I quickly tore the rest of my gifts open, seeing that each one of them had gotten me another charm for my bracelet. _Those sneaky buggers. That's why they wouldn't let me go with them on their secret mission last weekend!_

We flipped on the television and waited for Alice to come back from whatever it was that she was doing. We didn't wait long, as soon enough our little pixie came running back into the room with an arm full of beads, hats, noise makers, and more. She plopped the hats and beads on each one of us, then ran into the kitchen to get each of us a glass for the drinks (non-alcoholic of course!). I glanced over at the rest of the gang and rolled my eyes. _This was definitely going to be a long night. _

**Edward POV**

I sat with my arm around Bella's shoulders as we watched the broadcast centered around the ball drop that would happen in about fifteen minutes. I couldn't wait to ring in the first moments of the New Year with my girl. My parents were amazing for letting all of my friends come and spend the time here with us.

"Guys! I can't believe that the New Year is almost here. Let's go around and say what our favorite moments of this year were. I'll go first. My favorite moment was our snow ball fight after school that day. That was the most fun that I have had all year! Jasper, you next!" Alice said.

"My favorite moments were all the time that I spent with you darlin'. All of those are my favorite."

Everyone sighed at Jasper's response, and Alice planted a huge kiss right on his face.

"Okay, okay. Enough of the cuteness. It's my turn," Emmett exclaimed. "My favorite part was seeing the faces of the Bitch Brigade when they saw that Eddie-boy over here wasn't interested in them! That was a classic."

Rose rolled her eyes and continued on with her turn. "Mine was becoming friends with all of you, because our little group definitely needed to expand a little."

Bella looked at me and said that her favorite moment was being my secret santa, because it was the main thing that brought us together. I grinned and shot her a wink, then went as I was the last to go.

"My favorite moment was the dance, because it was the first time I ever got to kiss my wonderful girlfriend, and I will never forget that."

I heard a shriek come from Alice that burst the bubble that we were encased in at that moment. "The countdown is starting! Everyone get your glasses!"

As the count from ten began, I shifted Bella so that she was partly sitting on my lap. We stared at each other's face, blocking the sound of the others counting around us, completely focused on one another.

5….4….3…2…..1….

"Happy New Year!" Everyone exclaimed at the same time.

"Happy New Year, Bella," I whispered into her ear, and slowly lowered my lips to hers, bringing in the first moments in the best way possible, with her in my arms.

**A/N: And that is officially it! Thanks to all of those who have stuck with this story after all of these months and even those who read it in the dead of summer. It means alot that all of you like this story. I have been working on a few projects lately, so hopefully you will be able to see something soon! Set me to alert, and please review!**


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